Apparatus for causing a predetermined variation or predetermined variations in a physical effect.



I R. w. NEWCOMB. v APPARATUS POR CAUSING A PBEDETERMINED VARIATION 0R PREDETEHMINED VARIATIONS IN A PHYSICAL EFFECT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-23.1918.

1,295,572. Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

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A l, A ORNEY UNITED STATES IATENT OFFICE.

W. NEWCOMB,

OF GBEENWICH, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES ENGELHARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS IEOIRs CAUSING A PBEDETERMINED VARIATION OR PREDETERMINED VARIATIONS IN A PHYSICAL EFFECT. I I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 23, 1918. Serial N 0. 218,919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH W. NEWCOMB, a citizen of the United States, residing at Greenwich, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Causing a Predetermined Variation or ,Predetermined Variations inv a Physical Effect, of which the following is a specification.

The invention is an apparatus for causing a predetermined variation, or predetermined variations, in a physical effectsuch as heat, light, sound or electricityat a given period, or periods, in a predetermined inter-- val of time, which apparatus is itself controlled by a variation, or variations, automatically. occurring in said effect. I

I herein illustrate my invention in an apparatus for controlling temperature in a furnace, whereby said temperature may be caused to change at a certain period or be caused to make a plurality of changes in a predetermined time interval.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a general view of my apparatus, the electrical connections being shown diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the rotary drum and a side elevation of the voltmeter stylus and stylus depressing bar. Figs. 3 and 4 are temperaturetime diagrams explanatory of my invention.

Similar letters and numbers of reference indicate like parts.

A is a furnace of any suitable construction which is heated by a gas burner 20 en- B operated by slotted lever 22. Supported i 'in brackets on the furnace wall are oppositely disposed electro-magnets C, D, the movable cores of which are connected to a pin sliding in the slot of lever 22. When magnet C is energized, the valve B is rotated to reduce fuel supply to burner 20, and when magnet D is energized, valve B is retated to increase said supply. Inthis way the temperature of the furnace is here reduced or increased, as the case may be.

Within the fire chamber .is a thermopile E, the terminals of which are connected to the moving coil of a voltmeter V of the DArsonval or Weston type having a stylus F, on the under side of which is a contact pin G. v I A H is a drum continuously rotated at selected speed by any suitable means, such as a.

clockwork mechanism I, geared to the drum shaft 23. The drum comprises two mutually insulated metal plates J, K in cylinderi cal form separated by an electrical gap, here a strip L of insulating material, the sur face of which is flush with the plate surfaces,

Plvoted at their ends in a support 24 are Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

arms 25 connected by a curved bar M which extends over the stylus F. On one of said arms is an arm 26 which extends over a toothed wheel 27 rotated by the clockwork mechanism I. As each tooth of said wheel passes under arm 26, said bar M is raised and released so that it falls upon stylus F, and so intermittently depresses pin G into contact with said drum.

Bearing against the drum cylinders J, K are spring contacts 28, respectively connectedto a terminal of each of the magnets C, D. The opposite terminals of said magnets are joint y connected to battery 29, which in turn is connected to one of the arms 25.

The stylus F with its pin G is a switch. which is moved by the voltmeter across the cylinders J, K and strip L. When said switch contacts with cylinder K circuit is established to magnet C, which closes valve circuit is established to magnet D to increase said fuel supply.

In Fig. 3 let the parallelogram shown represent cylinders J, K developed in a plane as flat plates. Let the electrical gap formed by insulating strip L be a straight line parallel to a longside of the parallelogram, and assume said side to be laid ofi in equal scale divisions 1, 2, 3, 4, representing time, as hours, and a short side to be laid off in equal scale divisions I, II, III, IV, representing temperatures increasing from I to IV. If the stylus pin G be placed 'on strip L and the parallelogram be moved in the direction of the arrow 6, Fig. 4, at a constant speed, then as the temperature of the furnace increases,

the stylus or switch will move away fromhe to keep the furnace at uniform temperature durin the predetermined time interval. Now the o ject of my invention is to provide not for uniform temperature, but for a predetermined change, or changes, in temperature during said interval. Thus, to illustrate, and referring to Fig. 4, suppose we desire the temperature of the furnace starting from temperature II and hour zero to be re duced at the hour 2 from II to I. Therefore we have a time vector 2, and a temperature vector II, I, and the resultant vector is the line II a. In the following two hours, the temperature vector is I, II, the time vector is 24, and the resultant vector is a II. Therefore the insulating strip L is given the form of the bent line II a II, which is here formed by the two successive resultant vectors, with which line the edges of the adjacent cylinders J, K may be made to conform.

Now supposing the switch to be at temperature II and hour zero and the drum H to start rotating in the direction of arrow e, the switch will then make contact with cylinder K, closing circuit to magnet C. The temperature in the furnace will then be reduced, and afl'ect the thermopile and voltmeter to move the switch toward the strip L, upon reaching which the circuit is interrupted, and in like manner whenever the strip runs from under the switch, circuit will be established to magnet C or magnet D, which in turn will operate valve B, vary the fuel supply, and hence the current given by the thermopile, and so cause the voltmeter to bring the switch pin G again on the insulating strip L. In other words, the switch follows the electrical gap or insulating strip L. That gap is in the hue or form of the resultant vector of the two selected component vectors, time and temperature. All that is necessary is to make the strip L represent any selected relation of two vectors, and the physical efl'ect controlled by the switch will I be overned in accordance with that relation.

f the physical eli'ect is always to be controlled in the same way, then a single drum constructed, as described, to accomplish the desired varlations may be installed once for all. If, on the other hand, the apparatus is to control the physical effect in different ways, then other drums differing in the shape of the strip L will be provided and be- An apparatus for causing a predetermined variation in a physical efi'ect at a certain period during each of a succession of predetermined timeintervals, comprising a pair of contacts, a switch actuated by said physi cal efi'ect to follow an electrical gap between the edges of the members of said pair of contacts, the said members being in tubular form, which gap developed on a plane is in the form of the line of the resultant vector of component vectors res ectively representing units of said physica effect and units of time, means for rotating said members at a predetermined speed, means for increasing said physical efi'e'ct, and means for decreas ing' said physical efl'ect, the said increasing and decreasing means being respectively in circuit with the members of said pair of contacts: whereby when one of said circuits is closed by the movement of said switch away away from said gap in the opposite direc tion, said physical efiect is decreased.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RALPH W. NEWCOMB.

Witnesses GERTRUDE T. PORTER, MAY T. MCGARRY. 

